Appalachian Blessings

What’s Your Gift?

Maybe it’s because I’ve been in love with words since Dad first fell asleep while reading me a book and I had to figure out how to finish the story on my own.

But really, even before then, I remember being drawn to words. I wanted to write them, to touch them, to read them. I wanted to OWN words.

I used to keep all the junk mail my parents would have normally thrown away. Documents with all those lovely words marching across the paper appealed to something deep inside me. I kept them in stacks and sifted through them–finding a kind of comfort that soothed me.

Now, as an adult, I suspect God planted a love of words in my spirit. It’s my gift. Which means I’m NOT good at writing. It simply means God created me with a love for language woven into my very being. It’s not something to be proud of. It simply IS.

Sometimes I think we worry too much about what our gifts AREN’T. We look around and see people who are better at something than we are. And we tend to downplay our own gifts because, well, they come more easily. And that makes them seem like not such a big deal.

Today I’m challenging you to identify your gift and own it. Not because it makes you better, smarter, or more amazing. But because God gave YOU that gift for a reason. So own it. Appreciate it. And then go use it.